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Thursday, 27 January 2011

Bending To The Rules And The Wind

One of the curiosities in the large few years and especially during the recent crisis is the absence of much in the way of fraud and other stories in the media and popular press beyond those of the Members of Parliament.

One reason for this is the absence of much in the way of police activity or attention. Even where the regulatory bodies are concerned with some firms and individuals there is very little information that surfaces and not much being pursued in the courts.

Contrast this story from Los Angeles with the UK coverage and this tale is a common one across the pond where police and other authorities are far more active:

Yet it is apparent that a good deal of sharp practice has been going on in the UK at all sorts of levels. Just how did many of the crazy PFI deals get made and who exactly benefited, apart from the obvious people? In the story flagged, the insider dealing will have its impact on massaging financial figures in the markets.

It is my view that in recent years the UK has been awash with petty fraud and worse a lot of nasty, unscrupulous hard ball tactics in the day to day dealings. Add to that fiddled figures, imaginative accounting and careless record keeping so there could be a great deal of money leaking and being taken in ways that would be criminal in other jurisdictions.

So when it appears that the government does not seem to know what it is doing or indeed what is going on in its own departments it is no surprise. We are now living in a state where corruption and dishonesty are becoming the norm.

On the web I saw that some mathematicians looking at the collapse of states, empires and political entities have found that there are many in recorded history where it has happened for no obvious cause. They just implode because of their own complexity, uncertainty, collapse of law and inability to maintain just rule.